
Sam Gibbs provides handy tips on how to start the conversation about curriculum design in English at your school – plus, 3 reasons why NOW is the perfect moment to do so.
Read moreSam Gibbs provides handy tips on how to start the conversation about curriculum design in English at your school – plus, 3 reasons why NOW is the perfect moment to do so.
Read moreDiscover how BTHCC focused on two areas that have been transformational in changing student attitudes and results in reading levels: the transformed school library space; and the embedding of reading across the curriculum.
Read morePiXL Reading project is partnering with OUP Super-Readable Rollercoasters to support schools with long-term reading to inspire fluent readers for lif.
Read moreSarah Eggleton suggests some strategies and tips to help you plan how to assess your students, identify learning gaps and start the catch-up process for those who need extra support at the start of the new school year. We know that the pandemic has hit those children who are disadvantaged the hardest, but it will […]
Read more‘Cultured…Engaged…Informed’. This vision strapline underpins everything we do in my English Department. Vocabulary teaching, naturally, plays an important role in fulfilling this vision. When we spoke to students about the disadvantages that poor vocabulary acquisition brings, the one that came up repeatedly was that of frustration – the inability to communicate that which is in […]
Read moreFor very good reason the last several years has witnessed an explosion in thinking about effective revision strategies, with an increasing focus on self-testing and retrieval. As we increasingly use and model these skills in our own classrooms so too do students increasingly use them in their own independent practice. Yet, whilst we may be […]
Read moreRecently, I’ve been playing around with and using a lot of Oxford University Press Shakespeare materials and resources, which are proving to be excellent. In particular, I’ve been experimenting with their ‘Macbeth GCSE Revision Workbook’ by Graham Elsdon, which is part of the Oxford School Shakespeare series. I’ve been using this in the more traditional […]
Read moreA perennial issue for English teachers is how best to prepare students for English Language. This is for good reason. Without a specific body of knowledge to teach, such as a literary text, it can all too easily descend into vague discussions orbiting around examination papers. In my own teaching, in order to address this, […]
Read moreBy Jemma Baker, Royal Holloway, University of London New faces. New subjects. New opportunities. Transitioning from primary to secondary school is a big deal for 11-year-olds. For some, it may prove nerve-wracking; for others, exciting. Not only does this transition come with the challenge of adjusting to a new school environment, but also with the […]
Read moreAs if Covid didn’t present enough problems – we have noticed a frightening increase in the number of students who have completely disengaged with reading. I blame the pandemic for this because the National Literacy Trust’s annual survey found: ‘some children and young people reported that a lack of access to books (with schools and […]
Read more